Customer Reviews

Web Based Training (2001 publication)

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After several years in preparation, Web-Based Training, edited by Badrul H. Khan, is now available, as of February 2001. Containing 63 authoritative chapters, written by leading expert from all over the world, this encyclopedic work (the scope is indicated by citations for more than 800 authors and a 40-page index), there is no major aspect of using the Web for training, in its broadest possible context, including, for example, teacher training, not explored in this work. The book contains more than 600 page each packed with always helpful information, hundreds and hundreds of available URLs, sources of all kinds and varities throughout the world. Included is Khan's Web-Based Framework, a comprehensive examination of all of the factors that one needs to consider in designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating theusage of the Web for learing and instruction. While the immediate focus of the book is on training at all levels, the fact is that teachers, software developers, Website designers, instructional psychologists, college faculty, graduate students of instructional design and development -- in fact, all people with an intense interest in using the Web for learning -- will benefit from this volume. There is simply no other published work that comes close to this kind of total overview of the emerging field of distributed learning. The meticulous care employed in assembling the book is evident on eevery page in each chapter.

What is the need to have training, teaching, learning and instruction programs outside the classroom? This question has bothered many since a century.

Noble Laureate Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) moved the classes outside, under the tree. The school called Shantiniketan, the abode of peace, was initially an Ashram or hermitage founded in 1863 by his father, Maharishi Devendranath Tagore. The criticism as well as the opposition, that emerged on this extended form of learning was unimaginable. Being an open-air school started in 1901 today it is successfully functioning as an international open university and named as Vishva-Bharati. Based on a similar concept, emerged the distance learning programs which are spread all over. This distance learning created a model for informal education. With Internet came the next generation of training, using Web technology for facilitating in the beginning by email based asynchronous, and now by synchronous interactive programs. Today Web-based training (WBT) is just doing what Tagore did by further moving the education from the school building.

This book is divided into three sections, viz., Section I Web-based training: Introduction (pp. 1-74) with 7 chapters; Section II Web-based training: Design and Development Perspectives (pp. 75-366) with 32 chapters, and Section III Web-based Training: Implementation and Evaluation Perspectives (pp. 367-5558) with 24 chapters. It also has an Author index (pp. 559-568), and Subject index (pp. 569-599).

For those who are looking for additional resources that incorporate Web-based perspectives, the book has a chapter on digital libraries (pp. 391-394), by John Schmitz, and an exhaustive directory, `Web-based Training Resources' (pp. 59-74), by Manal el- Tigi and Badrul Khan. The directory provides links to print, institutional and Websites. This vast information is systematically categorized under 16 types of resources, such as databases; magazines; books; online bookstores; conferences; FAQS (online courses); Jobs; WBT/WBI courses; Companies; Software; etc..

This compendium provides real insights to all those wish to develop new platforms or evaluate the existing modules. It helps in understanding the attitudes, strategies, and techniques for the virtual classroom. It also has a focus both on academic research and acts as a solid practitioner's guide to the literature. It is a must for all those who are interested in understanding the lessons of history and would like to avoid the mistakes of the pretesters. Everyone interested in end-user computing will benefit with the innovative guidelines to adapt technology on the information highway.
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